D&D Half-races

[Tempest]

https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/04/ ... ly-racist/

I usually tend to stay away from the latest internet outrage and people seeing injustice behind every twig of grass but I stumbled into this news where Wizards of the Coast would began sanitizing their core rules because mixed races are an "inherently racist concept in the game". Honestly, I wasn't even sure how to respond to this. I could have gotten on board if they said that genetics made it impossible for this to happen but com'on, the genre is called 'fantasy', it's meant to be unrealistic.

I think that the whole concept of erasing one or more races from existence in the name of fighting racism is ludicrous. Because if two different races, like a human and an elf (think Aragorn and Arwen) manage to put aside their own racial bias and decide to get involved in a relationship and possibly have kids. How this can be considered as discriminatory and insensitive? Moreover, Arwen already has mixed Edain (Mannish) and Eldarin (Elven) blood so I'm not sure how erasing her or retconning her into a pureblood elf would somehow be better. I know that LotR isn't ad&d but do they really think that inclusivity is only for purebred?

What they should have done was to do away with the whole concept of calling these races "half-something" and create a unique name for them. Not because of sensitivity but because no race would call themselves that... Unless, they are very few in number and if people don't really respect them. Then sure, calling them "half-something" can be used as some sort of insult or to demean them but just a little and in an indirect way with a plausible deniability since the name remains factual. But the moment they have their own village and their own little society, they would figure out a proper name for their race and their language and culture would drift to become something unique to them. Like a minotaur is not called a half-bull, a naga is not just a half-serpent, a satyr is not a half-goat, a centaur isn't an half-horse and so on (even if those mythological creatures exist in their own right and are not crossbreeds, but you get the idea).

But ultimately, they are missing the point of role-playing here; all fantasy worlds contain some good and some bad things, racism is just one possibility among many and not necessarily just about half-races, it is also a well used trope to have dwarves and elves at each other's throat. For example, an orc may be a really good guy but he may be stuck in his own social structure that is difficult to escape and he face the dilemma of staying or leaving knowing that he won't be welcomed with open arms in the human settlements nearby (who have to deal with orc raids). Now imagine how bigger this dilemma becomes if instead of an orc, you have a half-human half-orc character.

Role-playing is the sum of all the decision and choices the players makes; to show empathy or not to the people around them and their suffering. But also about the personal motivations of the characters: to have goals for themselves, to fix something about the world or about their life that they don't like. There is no point in having a campaign where everyone is holding hands and sing Kumbaya. The whole concept of playing a character is the struggle against life's cruelty and its inherent unfairness, without that there is no quest, no hero's journey, and very little role play... If everyone is equal, then you reduce the game to killing enemies and gathering loot. Races are reduced to some bonus and penalties on a piece of paper but don't really matter.

[Corva]

IIRC the idea is that half races doesn't account for more complex mixes? It's a rule update to account for the possibility of a half elf falling in love with a half orc -- how do you role the stats for that?

Not that I've ever played D&D. Never had anyone to play with. Okay I played for a couple of hours over the internet in 2020, using a borrowed barbarian character (I only showed up to watch, but the DMs nephew didn't show so I took the character made for him) (and got into the spirit by immediately asking to bash down the first door we came across, without waiting to see if it was actually locked (it was not) -- is that a failed perception check?)

Might watch Critical Role now. Since I've probably watched at least an hour of interviews with the cast of Honor Among Thieves and fallen ever more in love with Sophia Lillis (not only is Doric incredibly relatable, so is the actress).

Anyway. As far as fantastic racism is concerned, I really really love Doric. Not just the film, but the prequel novel, even if hard reading emotionally because yes autistic tiefling girls are not difficult to relate to. Though for handling racism, no-one did it better than Sir Pterry. And other issues of human bigotry. (Is it even racism tieflings experience? It's bigotry based on appearence but that's not always racism).